A California domestic violence restraining order is a court order that protects you from abuse, threats, stalking, or harassment by someone you have a close personal relationship with, such as a current or former spouse or dating partner, a cohabitant, a co-parent, or a close family member. You request one by filing Form DV-100 with the superior court; there is no filing fee.1California Courts. File Your Request for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order Protection can begin the same day through a temporary order and, after a hearing, can last up to five years.
Who Qualifies for a DVRO
A domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) is available only when the person you need protection from falls within a defined relationship. That includes a current or former spouse or registered domestic partner, someone you are dating or used to date, a person you live with or used to live with as more than a roommate, someone you share a child with, or a close relative such as a parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or in-law.
If the person threatening you is a neighbor, coworker, stranger, or acquaintance who doesn’t fit any of those categories, a DVRO is not the right tool. California has separate civil harassment, elder abuse, and workplace violence restraining orders for those situations.
What a DVRO Can Order
A DVRO can require the restrained person to stay a set distance away from you, your home, your workplace, your children’s school, and your vehicle. It can prohibit any form of contact, direct or indirect, including texts, social media, and messages passed through third parties. If you share a home, the order can require the restrained person to move out. It can require the surrender of firearms and ammunition. And in family situations, the same order can include temporary custody, visitation, and child support terms, which is one of the main reasons this category matters for parents.
Emergency, Temporary, and After-Hearing Orders
Protection moves through up to three stages, each covering a different window of time.
Emergency Protective Order
An emergency protective order (EPO) is the fastest option, but you don’t request it yourself. A law enforcement officer, usually one responding to a 911 call, asks a judge to issue it.2California Courts. Guide to Protective Orders The officer must have reasonable grounds to believe someone faces an immediate and present danger of domestic violence, child abuse, child abduction, elder abuse, or stalking.3California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6250 – Emergency Protective Orders A judge is available around the clock. The EPO expires on the fifth court business day or the seventh calendar day after it is issued, whichever comes first.4Judicial Council of California. Emergency Protective Order Form CLETS-EPO That short window is meant to give you time to file for a longer-lasting order through the court.
Temporary Restraining Order
When you file your DVRO petition, you can ask the judge for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that takes effect right away and lasts until your hearing. The judge decides based on your paperwork alone, before the other person has had a chance to respond. A TRO lasts up to 21 days, or up to 25 days if the court finds good cause to push the hearing back. The hearing must be scheduled within that same window.
Restraining Order After Hearing
At the hearing, both sides can present evidence, call witnesses, and testify. If the judge grants the DVRO, it can remain in effect for up to five years. If the form doesn’t state an expiration date, it defaults to three years. You can ask to renew a DVRO within the three months before it expires, and renewal does not require proof of new abuse since the original order was issued.
How to File
Start with Form DV-100, the Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order.5California Courts. Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order DV-100 The California Courts self-help site provides the full packet of related forms at no cost. Filing fees are waived for domestic violence cases.
Describe what happened with specifics. Include dates, locations, exact words used, any injuries, and any pattern of behavior. Judges rely on concrete detail to decide whether to grant a temporary order the same day, so vague accounts can hurt your case. Attach or reference evidence that supports what you’ve written: police reports, medical records, photographs of injuries, threatening texts or voicemails, and statements from witnesses.
You do not need a lawyer, though the process is easier with one, especially if you expect the other side to contest the order at the hearing.
After you file, the restrained person must be personally served with copies of the petition, any temporary order, and the hearing notice at least five days before the hearing.6California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 527.6 – Harassment You cannot serve the papers yourself. Someone over 18 who is not a party to the case, such as a friend, the county sheriff, or a professional process server, has to hand-deliver them. If the person is avoiding service or can’t be located after a genuine effort, the court can authorize an alternative method.
Once granted, the order is entered into the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), a statewide database that lets any officer verify it instantly.7Judicial Council of California. Confidential CLETS Information for Law Enforcement Providing your date of birth on the confidential CLETS form also enters the order into the federal database, which makes it enforceable across state lines.
Firearm Surrender
A DVRO triggers immediate firearm consequences. California law requires anyone subject to a protective order to surrender all firearms and ammunition immediately upon being served, or within 24 hours if law enforcement doesn’t take them at that time.8California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6389 – Relinquishment of Firearms The person can turn weapons over to local law enforcement or sell or store them with a licensed dealer, but either way must file a receipt with the court and the serving agency within 48 hours. Failing to file the receipt is itself a violation.
Federal law adds a separate ban. Under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g)(8), anyone subject to a qualifying restraining order issued after a hearing they had notice of is prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Knowingly possessing a firearm while subject to a California restraining order is also a separate state crime under Penal Code 29825, punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.10California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 29825 – Possession of Firearm While Subject to Restraining Order
Custody and Visitation When Children Are Involved
If you share children with the person you’re seeking protection from, the DVRO can include temporary custody, visitation, and support terms in the same case. California law directs judges not to issue custody or visitation orders that conflict with a restraining order unless they specifically find that no consistent arrangement is possible and that the alternative is in the child’s best interest.11California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3031 – Custody and Visitation Orders
When custody or visitation is granted despite a restraining order, the court has to spell out the exact time, place, and method of exchanging the child, in part to protect confidential locations like domestic violence shelters. The court can require a third person to be present during visits, or suspend visitation entirely if the child’s safety demands it.
Penalties for Violating a DVRO
Any intentional, knowing violation of a restraining order is a criminal offense in California, whether it involved physical contact or just a phone call. A basic violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in county jail, or both.12California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.6 – Violation of Protective Order
Penalties escalate with harm and repetition:
- A violation that causes physical injury carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days in county jail (up to one year), a fine of up to $2,000, or both.
- A second violation within seven years that involves violence or credible threats can be charged as a felony with state prison time.
- A second violation within one year that results in physical injury carries a mandatory minimum of six months in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both, and can also be charged as a felony.
Officers can arrest someone for violating a DVRO without a warrant if they have probable cause. On a conviction with probation, the court can also require the defendant to pay up to $5,000 to a domestic violence shelter and reimburse the victim for counseling and other costs caused by the violation.
Time Off Work to Go to Court
Under Labor Code 230, your employer cannot fire, demote, suspend, or retaliate against you for taking time off to obtain a restraining order or other injunctive relief related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.13California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230 – Time Off for Victims Give reasonable advance notice when you can. If an emergency prevents that, you can provide documentation afterward, such as a court order, a police report, or a note from a licensed medical professional or domestic violence counselor. Your employer must keep the information confidential. If retaliation happens anyway, you have one year from the violation to file a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner, and remedies include reinstatement and back pay.
Changing or Ending a DVRO
Either the protected person or the restrained person can ask the court to modify or terminate the order.14California Courts. How to Ask to Change or End the Restraining Order You file the request with the court that issued the original order, and both sides get a hearing. The judge looks at whether the restrained person has complied with the order, whether the original threat still exists, and whether changed circumstances make the order unnecessary or too restrictive. A restrained person seeking termination faces a difficult argument when the protected person opposes it; courts are reluctant to remove protection where the person who asked for it still feels at risk.